


Repairs

by yeaka



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies), Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Robots & Androids, Gen, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-16
Updated: 2019-12-16
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:21:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21812848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeaka/pseuds/yeaka
Summary: Chekov waits for his fencing partner.
Kudos: 19





	Repairs

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own Star Trek or any of its contents, and I’m not making any money off this.

He _almost_ heads to sickbay out of sheer force of habit, but then he remembers that this particular friend will have his checkups elsewhere, and Pavel diverts down to Engineering. The turbolift drops him off, and he’s barely set foot in the main bay when he spots Hikaru, sitting on a pile of unopened crates against the wall. Lieutenant-Commander Scott stands beside him, bent over him, busily drilling into the side of his skull.

Pavel hesitates before approaching them, because he knows Dr. McCoy would _never_ let anyone else interrupt a routine a physical. But Pavel finds Scott’s beside manner considerably kinder, and Hikaru looks wide-awake and fully functional. His dark eyes even flicker over to the doorway, picking up Pavel, and he smiles. 

Pavel smiles back and has no choice but to wander forward. The redshirts busy about the bay pay him no mind. He gets about an arm’s length away and stops, not wanting to startle Scott and ruin something, but Scott spots him too and tells him, “He’s almos’ done, laddie. Just give me a wee bit...”

“Sorry,” Pavel chimes. He knows he should’ve waited. But they’ve only got so much time left before alpha shift starts and they both need to be on the bridge. Pavel has a whole cavalcade of activities planned out before that, most of which require his best friend. Maybe he was hoping Hikaru’s checkups would be way quicker than his own, because as far as Pavel can tell, Hikaru’s in full working order. For lack of anything better to say in the meantime, Pavel asks, “How are you feeling?” 

“Oh, like some crazy Scotsman’s drilling into my head,” Hikaru casually answers. “No biggie.”

“Aye, and ye best be thankful it is me,” Scott snorts. “How many other Starfleet Engineers do you know that can keep an android and a starship both hale and hearty at once?” Hikaru grins, even though Scott’s not at the right angle to see it. He sits perfectly still despite the tiny tools tinkering with his open panel, something that would probably freak Pavel out if it weren’t so incredibly _fascinating._ Scott asks, “What do you want him for, Ensign?”

“More fencing lessons,” Pavel answers, because that’s where they should start. He needs to make sure there’s time for him to shower off afterwards, so he doesn’t have to serve another shift on the bridge with his tunic glued to his skin with sweat. 

Hikaru chimes in, “I’ve been kicking his ass at it.”

Pavel snorts. Scott chuckles. “And why the devil would ye want to spar with an android, man? Nobody can beat a bloody robot!”

Pavel insists, “A Russian can.” Sooner or later, he will.

Hikaru laughs. “Let him try; it’s fun for me.”

Scott shakes his head and sighs, “Alright, lad. It’s your funeral.” Then he pulls back, slowly and carefully withdrawing his thin screwdriver. He swings the panel closed, and its edges melt fluidly into the rest of Hikaru’s skull, effectively hiding it from view. He looks perfectly human again, right down to the twinkle in his eyes. Scott announces, “Looks like you’re all good, Mr. Sulu.”

Hikaru gives Scott a genuine, “Thank you,” and tells Pavel, “Let’s go.”


End file.
